UAE court verdict on rights activists next month

An Emirati court said Sunday that it will next month issue its verdict in the trial of five activists accused of insulting top officials as the defendants continue to boycott the hearings.

The verdict will be announced on November 27, "while the defendants will remain in custody," the judge announced after the lawyers lodged their defence.

Blogger Ahmed Mansoor and Nasser bin Gaith, who lectures at the Abu Dhabi branch of the Sorbonne University, were detained in April along with activists Fahid Salim Dalk, Hassan Ali Khamis and Ahmed Abdul Khaleq.

The men are accused of using the Internet to insult UAE leaders, call for a boycott of last month's Federal National Council elections and for anti-government demonstrations.

Lawyer Abdulhamid al-Kumaiti told AFP after the hearing that he was expecting the defendants to be declared not guilty.

"I am expecting a not-guilty verdict based on all the defence we have presented, which has exceeded 2,000 pages," he said.

"We are confident ... and we are determined to ensure and defend the independence of the judiciary and the neutrality of the judge," he added.

The defence denied all charges filed against their clients and rejected the testimony of the main witness -- a security officer -- as "false and contradictory."